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Mel Gibson's 2006 drunk driving conviction expunged [Updated]

A judge today agreed to expunge Mel Gibson's conviction that followed an infamous Malibu drunk driving arrest in which the actor made anti-Semitic comments to a sheriff's deputy.

As part of his 2006 conviction, Gibson agreed to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, perform in
public service announcements and pay $1,300 in fines to resolve the drunk driving case.

[Updated at 10:35 a.m.: As a first-time drunk-driving offender, Gibson was eligible to have the conviction removed from his record after completing the terms of his probation. The expunging request and procedure is routine and took place before Judge Lawrence J. Mira during a 90-second hearing.]

A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy stopped Gibson in July 2006 on
Pacific Coast Highway after he was spotted driving his Lexus
sedan over 85 mph. A breathalyzer test showed Gibson's blood-alcohol level
to be .12%; the legal limit is .08%.

Sheriff’s officials initially described the arrest as “without incident.”

But after the celebrity website TMZ.com obtained the
arrest report detailing Gibson’s profane outbursts, attempt to escape
custody and repeated threats to the arresting deputy, critics charged
that the actor had received special treatment by authorities.

In his initial report, Sheriff’s Deputy James Mee described how
Gibson “bolted” from custody and how he chased the actor back to
Gibson’s car and handcuffed him.

In addition, the report detailed repeated threats against Mee made
by Gibson, who said he “owned Malibu” and would “get even” with the deputy.

The report also detailed Gibson’s “barrage of anti-Semitic
remarks,” in which he said, “The Jews are responsible for all the
wars in the world,” before asking the deputy, who is Jewish: “Are you
a Jew?”

Department officials decided to place that portion of the report
under lock and key in an effort to prevent immediate public
disclosure, while only a narrative of the basic facts was made
available to station personnel.